Sunday, May 31, 2009

Last night we went to Ribfest in Sioux Falls. The Ribfest has been going on for about 11 years in Sioux Falls. It is amazing!!! There are 8 rib vendors to chose from and you vote for your favorite and on the last day the winner is picked. This year Matt and I tried Despardo's. They weren't bad but I like Famous Dave's and Cowboys better. Layne even tried a little of the ribs and he LOVED them. Besides just having ribs, the Ribfest has a lot of great music acts. This year they had Kory and the Fireflies (local band), Survivor, and Jason Michael Carroll!! After we got done eating ribs, my parents took Layne home and we stayed to see Jason Michael Carroll. It was amazing!! We were right up by the stage and I got some amazing pictures!!

Layne enjoying Ribfest!!

Jason Michael Carroll

He sings Alyssa Lies, Where I'm From, and I can Sleep When I'm Dead among other songs.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

This weekend our family spent a couple of days up at Matt's parents cabin on Lake Kampeska in Watertown. Matt helped his dad and neighbor put in their docks and boat lifts. It was kind of chilly outside so Layne and I didn't spend much time outside. The bugs were also all over which was gross. However we spent a little time outside because I was having cabin fever being couped up in the house!! Layne didn't know what to think of his whole experience at the lake. His favorite part was the stairs as he crawled up them about 30 times!!! He also enjoyed playing with Tater outside. It was a pretty good weekend besides are lack of sleep. ( Layne refused to sleep in the crib so he ended up sleeping with us and got up a good 10 times during the night!) Hopefully the next time we go to the cabin it will go alot smoother!!

Layne playing with his Tater outside

Trying out his new sand box Grandpa and Dad built him. He wasn't to sure what to think of it!

Sitting in the little rocking chair at the lake

Layne playing with his new friend Gracie!! This was the only picture of them being nice to one another. Gracie would randomly walk up to Layne and hit him. Layne would try to tackle her and bite her repeatedly. (I have a little bully on my hands!!)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Matt and I decided to try our hand at gardening this year. Yesterday Matt and my dad spent sometime tilling a spot for the garden. This afternoon Matt and I planted everything in our garden. We planted the following:

8 Tomato plants

Yellow Peppers

Green Peppers

Banana Peppers

Jalapeno Peppers

Red Chili's

Onions

Green Onions

Peas

Carrots

Strawberries

I'm so excited at how much stuff we were able to plant!! We are going to make salsa with the peppers, onions, and tomatos that we are growing.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

This last month has been a whirlwind for us. While at Layne's 9 month checkup, I asked his doctor about his head shape. ( He has a flattened spot on the back of his head on the right side. At birth he had a hemotoma there because he came out at an angle.) His doctor recommended that I take him to get his head evaluated. I was terrified about what the results of this evaluation would be. Back in January at his 6 month appointment, I had stressed concerns over his head shape as well. The doctor told me that if it didn't change drastically by his next appointment that we would look at our options.

After a not so fun scan of his head and a jackass of a practioner, we walked out of there frustrated, pissed off, and in tears. ( I was in tears not Matt...) The practioner told us Layne has plagiocephaly. He blamed us for not bringing him in earlier and told us that his head would never been perfect, that his ears are misaligned and that he will probably have terrible vision!!

Matt and I just couldn't bear to go back to CCHS. We called Layne's peditrician and wanted to see if there was anywhere else we could go to get a second opinion. His doctor recommended us to a different practioner and we set up an appointment. This past Friday we went in for an evaluation. The practioner was alot more helpful and didn't blame us for Layne's head problem. He told us that it isn't the worst case of plagiocephaly that he has seen but it also isn't the mildest case he's seen either. He recommended that we have him wear a Starband. I'm not too excited about this but I want to do what is best for Layne. We are going back later this week to get a cast made of Layne's head so we can get his helmet made.

It is undecided how long Layne will have to wear the helmet. The practioner said it could be for a couple of months or it could be longer. Layne will have to wear the helmet for 23 hours a day. However we can take it off for special occasions and such. I hope that this will help Layne's head shape greatly.

Here is some pictures of before and after pictures of children who have had plagiocephaly and have been treated. I will keep updating about this as we go through this process.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Sunday, May 10, 2009

This week at daycare we will be saying our goodbyes to two of our kids. We have had Jack and Emerson since we started doing daycare two years ago. It will be sad to see them go but better for them in the long run. ( They drive about 25 miles to come to daycare here!)

Layne and Jack playing. They were chasing each other in and out of the castle.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

A few months ago I got the idea to make stepping stones for our landscaping. Well I finally got around to it. I've only made one so far as I didn't have enough cement. Here is the only one that I have gotten done so far. I think that it turned out really well. Matt is going to make one as well. And I'm going to make one for Layne.

Sorry for my long absence. We've been really busy lately and also been enjoying the great weather!! More posts to come!!